I have always been a bridge-builder between the United States and Japan, and issues surrounding technology have long been central to what I do. Raised in Tokyo in a bilingual environment, I grew up navigating multiple cultures from both insider and outsider perspectives—critical to achieving mutual understanding between very different countries. I studied at Stanford University during the technological revolution, which saw the rise of the internet, abundant processing power, and new dynamics of competition from Silicon Valley that transformed industries around the world. This shaped the trajectory of my career.
As a researcher at Stanford, I studied big questions surrounding technology, firms, regulatory structures, and political dynamics, such as how technological development shapes business models, interplays with regulatory frameworks, and influences how global competition unfolds. With regard to Japan, I analyzed and published on a range of technology-related political economy topics, including the political impact of foreign multinational corporations, Japan’s maturing start-up ecosystem, technological trajectories shaped by Japan’s extreme demographics, and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. As a researcher situated in Silicon Valley, I also focused on understanding how the Bay Area transformed the dynamics of global competition, as well as the institutional underpinnings that enabled start-ups’ various components—such as venture capital and industrial structure. To link academic knowledge with concrete industry strategies and policy processes, I spearheaded the Silicon Valley–New Japan Project, which consisted of public forums, research, and outreach activities that enabled Japanese firms to better harness Silicon Valley innovation and for Silicon Valley firms to improve understanding and collaboration with Japan. This is the background I bring to Carnegie.
The contrasting economic strengths and challenges of Japan and the United States continue to be stark. Japan has long been a technological leader in some areas, with 180-mile-an-hour bullet trains departing the Tokyo station every three minutes, aggressive deployment of drones to survey bridges and tunnels, and systems built into construction equipment to enable beginners to perform the work of highly skilled operators. The Silicon Valley ecosystem has produced global-scale IT platform companies whose cloud computing fabric undergirds the activities of individuals and businesses around the world, enabling the IT companies to create vast amounts of wealth. Global cloud deployments transformed computing power and storage into cheap, abundant resources. This enables artificial intelligence and other possibilities that are already transforming areas such as industry, science, and political engagement—possibilities with substantial geopolitical implications.
The range of exciting collaborations between Silicon Valley and Japan is vast and underappreciated, especially in the policy world. Among the collaborations that should be spotlighted: the deployment of AI in homes to assist an aging population and maintain health and family ties; industrial applications of IT tools to advanced manufacturing and robotics; and enabling remote operations of machinery with tactile feedback that can transform who does the work and where it is done. These types of collaborations also raise a wide array of policy questions that can provide concrete input into otherwise abstract policy discussions.
At Carnegie, I will spearhead new Japan programming and bolster its links with the new Silicon Valley office, where I will be primarily based. Japan’s global policy presence is lower than its economic clout would suggest, and I will offer new framing and narratives on Japanese innovations, its global presence, and unsung dimensions of the U.S.-Japan relationship. I will also offer analyses and perspectives on technologies such as AI, global cloud platforms, and other IT-related areas as input into policy discussions in Washington, DC. And I look forward to engaging with colleagues across Carnegie’s Asia programs, as Silicon Valley remains ground zero for much of the technology development that pushes global policy discussions in new directions and Japan provides a different perspective on issues that are often framed around U.S.-China technology competition.